W.Va. early voting ends Saturday

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Time is running out for West Virginians to cast early ballots for Tuesday's election.

Early voting that began Oct. 24 ends at 5 p.m. Saturday. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.

The secretary of state's office said nearly 123,000 West Virginians already have cast early and absentee ballots for the general election. That's about 10 percent of registered voters.

More than 62,750 ballots had been cast by Democrats as of Friday. Nearly 43,700 were by Republicans.

Unaffiliated and alternative-party voters cast the remaining ballots.

In 2008, more than 153,000 people cast early ballots for the general election. The secretary of state's office said that was almost 22 percent of all votes cast, and helped lift overall turnout to nearly 59 percent.